The Nuclear Regulatory Commission in July continued to keep a tight rein on spending down its balance from the federal fund intended to pay for a nuclear waste disposal facility.
The agency used just $335 for unspecified program planning and support, according to its latest monthly spending report to Congress. That left it with an unspent, unobligated carryover of $426,375.
For the most part, the NRC has spent just a few hundred dollars each month since early 2019 on program planning and support.
The regulator in 2008 received a license application from the Department of Energy to build and operate a geologic repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev., for high-level radioactive waste from defense nuclear operations and spent fuel from commercial power plants. The Obama administration cut off funding for the licensing proceeding two years later, but a federal appeals court in August 2013 ordered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to resume work on the application.
At the time the NRC had a balance of over $13.5 million from the Nuclear Waste Fund. It has since spent more than $13.1 million of that carryover. Top items include nearly $8.4 million to complete the safety evaluation report for the project and over $1.5 million to prepare a supplement to the environmental impact statement for the application.
In three consecutive budget requests, from fiscal year 2018 to 2020, the Trump administration asked Congress to appropriate money from the Nuclear Waste Fund so the Energy Department and NRC could resume licensing Yucca Mountain. Congress rejected each request, and the White House abandoned the request for the upcoming 2021 budget year. it is instead seeking $27.5 million for the Energy Department for initial work on interim storage of used fuel. The House passed a budget bill with the funding, while the Senate has yet to release any appropriations legislation for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.
